Method of waterproofing fibrous materials.



ALFRED O. TATE, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO TATE ELECTRO- LYTIC WATERPROOFING COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION \OF NEW YORK.

7 METHOD OF WATERPROOFING FIBROUS MATERIALS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ALrnuo O. Tarn, a

"arng at Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain proofing fibrous materials by the. suspension or elimination of the capillary action of the fibers of a fabric, thus preventing the penetration or absorption of moisture, in the general manner described in my prior Patent, No. 933,861, issuedto me September 14, 1909. Thisinvention is an improvement upon the method of my prior patent and also upon the process described by me in my pending' application Serial No. 879,872, filed December 31,1914.

Some of the objects of my invention are to improve the process of my prior Patent No. 933,861; to effect a practically permanent suspension or elimination of capillary action in fibrous materials, thus eiiecting a substantial Waterproofing of the fabric without at the same time appreciably decreasing its original porosity or ventilating qualities; to effect Waterproofing of said v n the permeation or impregnation of the,

materials Without appreciably changing their texture or color; to render materials so treated practically stainproof; to fix dies in fabrics treated" With unfixed dies; and to obtain the foregoing objects by means of a process which 18 simple, economical-and rap-- idly operated. 7

Generally speaking, my invention consists -material to be treated which maybe in the "form of a fabric or thread, with a saponaeeous substance, and the incorporation ,ofametallic acetate and a metallic hydroxidi I thus incorporate in the mate 'rial treatied a material which is Water-repelling but soluble, and also two substances, one at least of which is insoluble in Water. These three substances combine toforn an insoluble Waterproof substance with which the fibers of the material are impregnated to the extent that capillary action is more or less entirely eliminated.

Materials treated according to my improved process are practically Waterproof and remain so evenafter having been subjected to friction or Wear, or boiling for pe- Specifioation of Letters Patent.

subject of the King of Great Britain, resid- Eatented June 5, 1917.

Application filed October 27,1916. Serial No. 12?,997.

riods long enough to. indicate the practically permanent nature of their non-absorbcut qualities. Boiling provides one "of the severest tests for waterproofing, since the.

heat and molecular friction incidenttheretoproduce etl'ects on the material which can be realized in no other manner known to me.

I find that sodium palmit'ate, a constituent of White Gastile soap, aluminum acetate and aluminum hydroxid are suitable substances for the practice of 'my invention. I find that sodiun'i palmitate is desirable because of its chemical properties and because of'its 1 physical properties, in that it may be rendered sulliciently fluid to enter capillaries of any fiber with which I am familiar. Aluminum acetate and aluminum hydroXid are preferably used because, when combined with the sodium palmitate, va practically colorless waterproof and non-absorbent -sub stance is formed, thus preserving the original color of the material (treated; These substances also have important physical and chemical properties, by reason of Which they lend themselves, to the practice of my process.

While I have stated these substances to be those which I at prcsent prefer in the practice of my invention, it,Will be evident-to those skilled in the art that other substances might be substituted for those named as, for instance, the acetates and hydroxids' of other metals.

It is also evident that saponaceous substances, other than palmitate of soda, may be found suitableto the practice of my invention, and I do not, therefore, desire to confine myself to'the use of any of the three substances particularly described, but intend to cover in my claims all equivalent methods of practising my invention. In practising my improved process, the

material treated is firstsaturatedwith a I solntiori of thcsaponaceous substance, preferably sodium palmitate, and, then passed between two electrodes, which may be in the form of conducting rolls, although electrodesof any other suitable shape may be used. One electrode or roll represents the positive, and the other the negative, element of an electrolytic cell through which a current of electricity flows. The positive electrode or roll should be of the metal, the hydroxid of which it is desired to incorporate. The negative roll or electrode may be ner, as by spraying on the surface of the negative roll. At the same time, a nascent metallic hydroxid, as for instance, aluminum hydroxid is introduced by electrolytic precipitation from the surface of the positive metallic roll. I find that the simultaneous application of the aluminum acetate and'the electric current produces results which are far superior to the results obtained by any waterproofing process heretofore known to me. It will be understood'that the number of pairs of electrodes or rolls may be increased as desired, for the purpose of augmenting the quantity of non-absorbent substance introduced into the fabric, in. -t'he same manner described above. After'pass ing through the electrodes the material is washed and dried in any suitable manner. It will be understood that the strength of the solutions, the time of treatment, and

the value-of the current may be varied, depending-in great measure upon the nature, quality and thickness of the material to be treated. These values may best be determined by test. For the purpose of giving values which I have found operative, I will describe those I prefer to use in the caseof woolens, such as ordinarily used for clothing, althou h these values may vary from those stated. In the case of woolens of this type, I find. that a satisfactory degree of water roofing is obtained by using a solution 0 sodium palmitate in the proportions of one-half ounce of white Castile soap containing sodium palmitate to one gallon of water, a solution of aluminum acetate of 1%; degrees T. W., and current density of about five amperes per linear foot of cylindrical electrode surface. In this case the goods are passed between the electrodes at the rate of about three feet per minute, the rolls used being seven inches in diameter, the positive roll being aluminum and the negative roll being graphite.

The action of the current in the above described process is important in producing a superior product,,for in addition to any aluminum hydrate, and; aluminum palmitate that may be ordinarilyfprpcipitated by the chemical action of the aluminum acetate on the sodium palmita'te'present in the cloth, the said current acts tin passing between the aluminum electrodes to not'only hasten this true chemical precipitation, but also to electrolytically pre'cipitnite onthe fibers of the cloth what I call a chemical excess of alu minuui hydrate, which is independent ,of :mv chemical proport ons of sodium-palmi- 'palmitate and a.

place in practice, yet,

said chemical excess of aluminum hydrateis water repellent it serves to produce waterproofing qualities in the fabric being treated of a very high order.

Not only does the simultaneous application of the electric current thus provide a quicker chemical li g owing to the phenomena of what is known recipitation of aluminum uminum hydrate, and a chemical excess of a valuable water repel-'- material on the individual fibers, bu tas electrlc osmosis, the current further acts to physically carry into the pores of the fibers, or to bodily impregnate said pores to any desired extent, with the said excess of aluminum hydrate and the latter is th refor deposited in said pores to a greater through chemical precipitation alone. Nov-- depth than it is possible to deposit it,

It therefore follows that my product is easily distinguishable on the market from other products of a similar nature, in that it is much more resistant to the dissolving and frictional action further, it even resists the solvent action of gasolene, benzene, and other similar hydrocarbon solvents, which no other like product will withstand so discover. 1

In other words, it is evident that the electrolytic action of the current on the sodium palmitate and aluminum acetate solution will facilitate the chemical precipitation of both the aluminum palmitate and the aluminum hydrate, so that the rapidly traveling fabric will receive in a given time a greater quantity of each than would otherwise be the case. -And as it is further evident that the quantity of water re elling hydrate or other compound which is ibrmed from the soluble electrodes is independent of the strength of the said solution, it necessarily follows that my method may deliver a greater quantity of insoluble substances to the rapidly traveling fibers than it would be possible to deposit chemically thereon. And again, since the current acts to carry said excess, or additional quantity of substances bodily into the pores of the fibers, fabrics treated by my process still act to repel solvents seeking to enter said pores, even though the individual fibers may have been previously subjected to rather rough usage, which is not true of other similar products, so far as I have been able to find out. While, to the best of my knowledge and belief, ti above correctly describes the chemical and electrical actions which take since said actions are by no means simple, or easily proved, it is of boiling water; and

far as I have been able to to be;understood that I do'not limit myself to, any particular theory of operation or sire, as I have pointed out, to be confined to any particular substances, values, or mechanisms used therein, since, as I have stated, they may be greatly varied without departing from the spirit of my invention. Machines particularly adapted for use practising my improved method are described in. my pending, application, Serial No. 9637, filed February 20', 1915, and in my application Serial No. 127,998 filed of even date herewith.

What I claim is:

, lfYTlle described method or process of waterproofing fibrous materials consisting in permeating the mass thereof with a saponaceous liquid and a metal acetate and electrolytically incorporating therein a metal palmitate and a metal hy roxid which coact in thefiber s of the material being treated to make them of a non-capillary nature.'

2. The describedmethod of waterproofing fibrous materials, consisting in impregnating 'themass with a saponaceous liquid and an aluminum acetate, and subjecting the material to the action of an electric current between the electrodes, one of which is soluble.

3. The described method of waterproofing fibrous materials, consisting in first impregnating the mass. with a saponaceous liquid, then wetting with aluminum acetate simultaneous with the subjection of the material to the action of an electric current between,

electrodes,one of which is soluble.

4. The described method of waterproofing "fibrous materials, consisting in first impregnatmg the mass with a saponaceous liquid,

then wetting with an aluminum acetate, and simultaneously electrolytically depositing aluminum hydroxid in the fibers between electrodes, one of which is formed of aluminum.

5. The described method or process of waterproofing fibrous materials, consisting in first permeating 01' impregnating the mass thereof with a saponaceous substance, and then incorporating therein a metal acetate, simultaneously with the subjection of said impregnated fabric to the action of an electric current between aluminum electrodes to form a metal hydroxid. I

6. The method of waterproofing 'fibrous materials, which consists in first impregnating said materials with an alkali metal palmitate,'tlzen simultaneously wetting with ametal ape ate to form a metal hydroxid, and subjecting the, impregnated fabric to the action of a soluble anode in an electrolytic circuit, substantially as described.

7. Themethod of waterproofing fibrous I as described.

' ALFRED O. TATE. 

